Archive by Author
The Meaning of “qad” قَدْ and How to Use it Posted by yasmine on Mar 27, 2019
Last week, we looked at how to use ُحَيث and all its multiple meanings. This week, we’re looking at a two-letter-word “qad” قَدْ . Do not let the littleness of such tiny words deceive you 😊, this word has an important grammatical function. قَدْ must come before either a past or present tense verb. Depending…
حَيْثُ Haithu and its Multiple Meanings Posted by yasmine on Mar 20, 2019
When learning a new language, the little words sometimes tend to be the hardest to remember especially if they have multiple meanings معاني متعددة. In this post we’ll look at a three-letter word that you are bound to find in texts and hear on the news in various contexts. حَيْثُ is an adverb that can…
Making Polite Requests in Arabic Posted by yasmine on Mar 13, 2019
It’s always important to learn how to be polite مُؤَدَّب in the language we are learning. In this post we’ll be looking at the common phrases used in MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) to make a polite request طَلَب. In English, a few common words used to make requests are (may, could, would, please, etc.) In…
Negating verbs in Arabic Posted by yasmine on Mar 6, 2019
Even if you’re a beginner in Arabic, negating verbs will come in handy for beginner’s conversations. It’s easy! 😊 There are three ways to negate verbs in Arabic depending on the tense. In this post, we’ll look at how to negate verbs in both MSA and in Levantine dialect for those of you who wish…
Grabbing a Taxi/Uber in Jordan Posted by yasmine on Feb 27, 2019
In this post, we’ll talk about some key words and phrases to use when grabbing a taxi or Uber in Jordan. First, why take a cab when you can use Uber or the Arab world alternative “Careem” “كريم”? Well, Uber and Careem have not been welcomed by the existing Jordanian taxi industry or government. Here…
Making comparisons in Arabic Posted by yasmine on Feb 20, 2019
How do we make comparisons المُقارنات in Arabic? It’s actually pretty easy and kind of similar to what we do in English. 😊 Let’s start with simple adjectives such as big كَبير, short قَصير, and fast سَريع. In English you would add an “-er” to the end and get bigger, shorter, faster, etc. In Arabic, the…
What’s Valentine’s Day like in the Middle East? Posted by yasmine on Feb 13, 2019
I’m sure many of you learning Arabic know the word “حبيبي” meaning “my love”. Valentine’s day عيد الحُب or عيد الفالنتاين is right around the corner. Do you happen to have a حبيبي you are planning to celebrate with? Like many in Amman, Jordan, I grew up watching American movies showing couples having dinner…